Ashes: Replacement keeper Sam Billings drives 500 miles to join England squad for 5th Test

On Friday, English wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings received his maiden Test call-up, and he drove almost 500 miles to join the England squad in Sydney. Billings, who was playing for the Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Big Bash League, was only 90 minutes away from flying to England when he was called to join the Ashes group for the fifth Test. Billings has been named to England's Ashes team as a backup wicketkeeper in case Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler are unable to keep in the final match.

Both Bairstow and Buttler were transported for scans after receiving hits on their hands during the ongoing fourth Ashes Test. In the absence of Bairstow and Buttler, England hitter Ollie Pope was handed the gloves. If the England regulars are unavailable for the fifth Test, Billings has been named in the squad to fill in as wicketkeeper. According to sources, Bairstow and Buttler are available to bat in England's second innings of the ongoing Test in Sydney.

Billings told Test Match Special that was he supposed to fly to England in 90 minutes when he received the call to join the Ashes squad for the fifth Test. Billings added that when he received the call, he was at the Brisbane airport from where he went straight to the Gold Coast airport and rented a car to start his journey to Sydney. 

Billings even turned to social media to share updates about his journey from Gold Coast to Sydney. The 30-year-old shared a tweet while making a stop at a resting place near Newcastle in New South Wales. "Just an observation… Australia is a reallyyyyy big place!" Billings wrote in his post. The Kent cricketer also shared a picture of his hotel room after he arrived in Sydney following a nine-hour drive. 

Billings' career

Since making his white-ball debut in 2015, Billings has not played a single Test match for England. Billings has scored 607 runs in 25 One-Day Internationals and 417 runs in 33 T20Is for his country. Billings has only struck a century and four half-centuries in the 25 ODI matches he has played. In the 50-over format, he has an average of 33.72. Billings' numbers are not so great in T20Is either. He averages a dismal 16.68 with the bat in the shortest format.  

Image: ECB